Glass tube reshaping apparatus



May 26, 1942.

A C. E. HAHN ErAL Guss TUBE @summe APPARATUS Filed oct. 2o, 1939 4Sheets-Sheet 1 inventors:

Clarence E. Hahn,

John S lo, .,wff

Their Attorney.

' May 26 1942- c. E. HAHN ErAL Guss TUBE RESHAPING;A1=P'ARATUS Filedoct. 2o) 19:59

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 s Vl h. yc HJ w OHM. een Vmhw new Wm m T C May 26, 1942c. E. HAHN E1-AL 2,284,089

l GLASS TUBE RESHAPI'NGAPPARATUS Filed Oct. 20, 1939.. 4 Sheets-Sheet 35j \x\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\64 8 E m TheivAttprney.

`MayA 26, 1942. c. E. HAHN Erm,

. GLASS TUBE RESHAPINGAPPABATUS Filed ot. 2o, 1959 4 sheets-sheet 4lrwerwtor' Clarence E. Hahn, Y John SeLQ, b5 Their Ator'neg'.

Patented May 26, 19`42 GLASS TUBE RESHAPING APPARATUS Clarence E. Hahn,Euclid, and John Salo, Cleveland, Ohio, assignors to General ElectricCompany, a corporation of New York Application october 2o, 193s, serialNo. 300,382 '7 claims. '(01.149-1) Our invention relates to apparatusfor reshaping the ends of vitreous tubing and more particularly toautomatic apparatus for reduc-y ing both ends f a vitreous tubesimultaneously.

The principal object of our invention is to provide automatic apparatusfor reshaping the carrier as they are mounted on and keyed to the y ingrelatively large size tubi-ng such as that used for the containers orenvelopes for certain types of electric incandescent lamps and dischargelamps. Lamps of these types are manufactured in various-lengths, and forpurposes of economy it is desirable that a single apparatus accommodateallot these lengths. -Because of comprising our invention'; Fig. 2 vis avertical section through said apparatus along line 2 '2 of Fig. 1 inthedirection indicated, and with portions of the turret broken away todisclose tube gripping means, burners, and reshaping means at one endthereof; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of feeding and positioning -meansfor the tubes; Fig. 4 is a section through one head of the turret, oneof severalmovable burners, and means foractuating said burner along line4-4 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is an end view of actuating means for the movableburners at one end of the tubes; Fig. 6 is a vertical section throughthe shaping means along line 6- 6 of Fig. 2; Fig. '1 is a correspondingside'elevation of the movable (rightlassignee of the present invention.

horizontal shaft I3 which provides indexing motion.

As shown in Fig. 1, the right end of the shaft I3 is supportedyon theball bearing I4 in the housing I5 which rests on the rigid bed I6, andthe left end of saidshaft I3 is mounted in a similar manner in thelargerrhousing I1 which is attached to the opposite end of the bed I6.In this particular instance, each head (indicated generally at II' linFig. 2) of the turrets II and I2 (which together may be termed acarrier) has associated therewith a roller I8 on thea spider. I9 on theend of the shaft I3 within thef larger housing I1, and the indexingmotion is brought about by a portion of the cam 20 which shifts saidroller Il. Between indexing motions, a uniformly shaped portion of thecam 20 extends between two of the rollers I8 and holds the tur- Afortheir -rets or carrier II, I2 in position. Such an indexing means isshown more in detail in Patent 2,021,001, 'J. F. Donovan et al.,assigned to the Movement of the cam 20, as well as all other parts ofthe apparatus, is under the control of a central driving meansconsisting of' the shaft 2| which in turn is driven from the shaft 22through the gears 23 and 24. Shaft 22 is preferably turned by anelectric motor (not shown) enclosed within the bed I6 through the belts25 and the pulley In their regular order of movement,` the heads Il' arefirst indexed into station A at which the` vitreous tubes I0 are fedthereinto. In this particular instance, the tubes I0 are of uni" -formdiameter from end to end and are supshaped supporting bars 2l which areattached to the housing I1 and the movable brackets 29 surrounding the-housing I5 and resting on the bed I6. The plates 30 on the outer sidesof the rails 21 keep the tubes I0 from shifting endwise and roughlyposition said tubes I0 in the heads.

As the heads are indexed from station A, the tube III is firstpositionedlongitudinally in the turrets Il and I2, and is then engagedby gripping means thereon. The positioning of the tube I0 occurs as oneend is carried against the resilient roll 28', in this instance made ofsponge rated a lesser distance than the length of the' mounted levers35.

rubber, and is pushed against the stationary stop 23' adjacent theopposite end of said tube |3 thereby. The roll 23' and thev stop 23' areheld Ain a fixed position by means attached to the housings |1 and 23respectively and are sepatube I3 so that the resiliency of the roll 23must take up the additional length thereof. The gripping means of theturrets and I2 comprises the jaws 3| and 32 which constitute portions ofthe heads and are closedl on the tube I3 by movement of the roller 33away from the high part 33' cf the stationary cam 34 surrounding theshaft |3. These jaws 3|- and 32 are' heldv in slide ways in the 'turretsbelow the cover plate 35, and are actuated through` the pivotally levers35 engages the slide 31 on which roller 33 is mounted, andthe other endof each of 4levers 35 engagesv one of said jaws 3| and 32 One end ofeach of said through the blocks 33. The blocks 38 slide in mounted overthe clitral opening in the cover plate 35 encloses the rollers 33 andthe major part of the cam 34 which is prevented from turningtherewith bya bar 42 attached at one end to.

'the bracket 43 on 'the bed I5 and at the other end to the bracket 29.The cam 34. is supported by the shaft |3 which it engages through theball bearing 44 (Fig. 4).

No operations take place at station B, and it is not until the tube I3is` indexed into station C that the ends thereof are heated by flamesfrom the stationary circular burners 45 at either end. The burners 45,appearing in Figs. 1 and 2, *are mounted beyond the ends of the tube IIIon pins extending from a circular disc 45 which in turn is mounted onone end of a tube 41 held by a'bracket 43 on either bracket 23 orhousing |1. The combustible gas mixtureenters the burner 45 from asource (not shown) through the pipe 43. To prevent the heat transferredto the disc 45 from being in turn transferred to the machine, coolingwater is lcirculated through the tube 41 from pipe 55 to pipe 5|.

The heat from the burners 45 is not suicient tosoften the vitreous tubel5 in the short time interval allowed, and the next two indexingmovements carry Vsaid tube I0 into stations D from the tubes.

a hallowed-out ring-shaped body portion 54 (Fig. 4) having a series ofjets or openings 55 at an'angle to the Atube I5, and a cover plate 55-which closes oi the chamberv conducting the combustible gas mixture tothe .iets 55. The

body 54is mounted on three pins 51 extending is provided at both endsfor their operation. At`

either end the supporting spindle 53 for each burner 52 or 53 is mountedin the ball bearings 5| and 52 in a single cross head 53 which isfastened to the lower side of the slide 54. This construction enablesthe burners 52 and 53 to be moved to and from their operating positionabout the tubes I3, as vthe slide 54 has V grooves 54' (Fig. 5) atopposite sides which engage the ball bearings 55 held in the V grooves55' of stationary gibs 56. The motion of the slide 54 is timed with' theindexing motions of the turrets and I2 by means of the cam 51, (Figs. '1and 2) on the cam shaft 53 which is driven by the main-drive shaft 2|through the bevel gears 53 and 13 and is the result of. either theopening or closing of the electrical circuit to the solenoid 1| o'f eachburner-moving mechanism. -The solenoid 1|as shown, is mounted beyond theends of the bars 12-12,'located over each of the gibs 55, on thecomposite rubber and end of the apparatus as shown in Fig. '7. The

burners 52 and 53 are of identical construction and, in order to avoidheating and softening more of the end portion of the tube l5 than is tobe reshaped, are made so that they can be'movedover the end of said tube|3. -In said position,

block 15 on the adjacent end of the slide 54 I and functions only whenthe burners 52 and 53 are to be pulled from their loperating position toallow the tubes |3 to be indexed.

When the burners 52 and 53 are carried into operating position, thecircuit to the solenoids 1| is broken by a change in shape of the cam 51which shifts the roller 11 and the arm 13, causing the switch 13 to beactuated, said switch controlling both solenoids 1|. The spring 33,which extends from a well 3|' in the` fastening 3| on the forward end ofthe slide 54 tothe cross'farm 32 extending between the bars 12, nowexpands and moves the slide 54. 'I'he said spring 35 surrounds a rod 33which extends from the cross arm 32 and slides in said fastening 3|.Since the movement of the slide 54 is quite rapid, a dash pot isprovided in the block 15, and a piston 34 resting against-the spring 35and blocking the opening, is caused to strike the cross arm 32 when thelimit of motion is reached. The air behind the piston 34 is bled outthrough the passage 35. The return movement of the slide 54 and theburners 52 and 53 occurs as the switch 13 is closed and the armature 15is drawn into the solenoid 1 As shown, the spindle 53' supporting eachburner 52 or 53 has an axial passage 31 therein which communicates withthe chamber distributing the Acombustible gas to the iets 55 through thepasthe burners 52 and 53 direct flames-back toward Y the ends of saidtubes I3 in a direction away names is aorded in this manner and betterheating action results as they do not meet and disturb each other.

In each case, the burner (52 or 53) comprises More definite control ofthe' sages 33 and 33 located, respectively, in a flange 53 on spindle53V and in the pins 51. The passage 31 terminates in a cap 3l on the endof said spindle 53, which cap is connected by the pipe 3| w the sourceofthe combustible gas. In addition. two other passages 32 and 33 areprovided 4in the spindle 53 for conducting cooling water to and Lfromthe chamber 34 located between a flange 53' 5) and draining through pipe99 respectively to u service the cooling means.

Since considerable heat is transferredI to the turrets II and I2, eachis cooled by the circulation of water in the passage in the outer facethereof between the dotted lines |00' and |00" in Fig.' 2. The coolingwater is conducted to and tions as the operating means for the rollsI|8in that it positions the rod |3| which engages the actuating leversI32'for each of the slides H9. 'I'he levers |32 are mounted on a pin |33passing through a slot in the spindle I|'| in which they are located andengage slide II9 and rod |3I through the blocks |34. The slide |28does-not engage rod I3I directly, but through ball bearing |35 which'permits said rod I3| to turn with the spindle ||1. Once the roll II5 hasentered the end of the tube |0and the rolls II 8 have moved from thepassage |00 in each instance by'pipe connections on opposite sides lofthe inside face of the turret-which in turn is connected through aflexible hose |0| and pipe nipple |02 to either ofthe longitudinalpassages |03 and |04 in the shaft I3. The passages |03 and |04 (Fig. l)extend the full length of the shaft I3 and terminate in the grooves|03', |04' `in the right end thereof which are lserviced by theapertures |06 and |01 in the stationary block |05. rTheblocll: |05 is astationary member connected to the water supply through pipe |05 and toa drain through pipe |01, and is held in place on the shaft |3 by thecap |08.

'To assure uniform heating by the burners 52 and 53, each is rotated bymeans of the gear |09 attached to the back of the` ange 59' on thespindle 59. The gears |09-|09 of each pair of burners 52 and 53 meshtogether and are driven through a stationary wide-face gear IIOmountedon the drive-shaft III of the speed reducer over the portion ofthe rim of said tube I0 to be reshaped, the motion -oi! slides |22 and|28 in a forward direction stops and a backwardI movement of the slide|28 occurs. This motion pulls the rolls `I I8 radially `inward againstthe tube I0 which is pressed against the center roll I I5 and takes theform shown. At this time, the rolls ||8 are being rotated'about the tubeI0 by motion of the spindle I I1 which is driven from the shaft l I |36(Figs. l and 2) through the spur gears |31 and |38. The shaft is heldAby the bracket driven by the electric motor through a pair of speedreducing gears (not shown) contained within said housing. Thisconstruction causes |I2 carried by the electric motor |I3 which in 35turn is mounted on the plate II4 bridging the gap between the bars 12.The width of gear I|0 is suiilcient to permit one of the gears |09tomesh with it when the burners52 and 53 are advanced and retarded, sothat they are rotating at all times.

The heat transferred to the ends of the tube I0 at stations C, D and Eis sullicient to bring them to a plastic state and,'when said tube |0'is indexed into station F, shaping means work said ends to the formdesired. The shaping means, which is duplicated at both ends of theapparatus,

is shown in Figs. 1, 2. 6 and 'I and comprises a centrally positionedroll I|5 and three rolls |I8 from the end of the tube lo. The spin me||1 6 lrides in the ball bearings |20 and |2| in the slide |22 and ismoved into operating position bycam |23 on the cam shaft 58 whichengages'the roller |24 extending from the lower part of said slide |22./Slide ways are provided for slide |22 by ball bearings |25 at bothsides which ride in grooves in slide |22; and gibs |28 held bythe'bracket |21 which is attached to the housing I1 andencloses the cam|23.

At the moment the rolls I I5 and I I8 are moved into operating relationto the tube I0, the slide |28 which is located directly behind slide'|22 is also moved forward by the caml |29 which it engages through theroller |30. The slide |28 funcspaced thereabout. Roll II5l is mounted onthe l u the entire periphery of the end of the tube I0 to -be treated ina like manner and, together with the other apparatus which assurespositivealignment of the shaping means with tube I0, causes said endportions to be uniformly end concentrically formed. In the return ofthe-shaping means, slide |28 is first moved forward to separate theouter roils I I9 from the tube I0 and then both slides |22 and |28 aremoved backward together to carry the rolls II5 and ||8 out of the pathof movement of the tube I0.

The next indexing movement of the turrets II and I2 carries the tube I0into station G which is provided to allow the ends thereof to cool, andthe succeeding indexing movement carries ,said tube |0 into station Hwhere it is released by the jaws 3| and 32 and drops from said turretsII and I2. The indexing motion carries the roller 33 of the jawoperating means onto a second raised portion 33" of the-cam 34 whichactuales the jaws3I and 32. In this particular instance,

the reshaped tube lmfaus onto the moving belt a 0 bed I6. The housing 29is clamped to the bed I6 Since it is desirable that the end of the tubeI0 about by connecting the turret I2 to said housing 29 by means of thering |46 on said housing 2! which overlaps the collar I 41 on saidturret I 2. A series of openings in the shaft I3 leading to the passages|03 and |04 therein permits the cooling means for the turret I2 to .beattached thereto at various places. The unused openings are plugged byeasily removable plugs which do not interfere with the adjustment of theturret I2.

-Figs. 2 and 8 illustrate the overlapping construction of the ringshaped plate 4I of the turret I2 which causes the cam 34 to movelongitudinally on shaft I3 when the position of the turret l2 isadjusted.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

1. Apparatus for reshaping thev ends of a vitreous tube comprisinggripping means for holding and positioning the tube, a carrier forsupporting said gripping means and advancing said tube into each ofaplurality of stations in turn, burners located at a plurality ofstations for heating the ends of the tube to a plastic condition,independoperative relation to the corresponding tube end as it isindexed into the station occupied by the burner, means for rotating saidlast-mentioned burner to cause it to heat the ends of the tube evenly,and means located adjacent said carrier at a succeeding station forreshaping said ends.

2. Apparatus for reshaping the ends of a vitreous tube comprising acarrier having heads at spaced intervals thereon, means for indexingsaid carrier to advance said heads to a plurality of stations in turn,means for introducing a tube in said heads at one of .said stations,means located' along the path of movement of said. heads for positioningthe tubes longitudinally therein comprising a stop member adjacent oneend of a tube in one of said heads and a resilient'roll'in ythe path ofmovement of the opposite end of said tube for pushing said tube againstsaid stop member.

3. Apparatus for reshaping the ends of a vitreous tube comprising aplurality of turrets mounted in spaced relation along a horizontal axis,corresponding gripping means I in alignment with each other on saidturrets for supporting and holding a tube intermediate its ends so thatsaid ends project freely therefrom, means. for index-- ing said turretscorresponding amounts to advance the tube toa plurality of stations inturn, and means located adjacent said turrets for heating and reshapingthe freely projecting ends of the tube at said stations.-

4. Apparatus of the class described for simultaneously reshaping bothends of vitreous tubes comprising a rotatably mounted carrier havingmeans-at its periphery for gripping a tube intermediate its ends so thatthe ends of the tube project freely therefrom, means for indexing saidcarrier to carry the tube through a definite path of travel, heating andreshaping mechanisms arranged adjacent the path of travel of oneend ofsaid tube to heat and reshape saidend, means for actuating saidreshaping mechanism, fixed support means carrying said heating andreshaping mechanisms and said actuating means, and a second set ofheatingand reshaping mechanisms arranged adjacent' the path of travel ofthe other end ofsaid tube to heat and reshape it with actuating meansfor said secondmentioned reshaping mechanism Vwholly independent of theactuating means for'the firstent actuating means for moving at least oneof said burners at each end of the tube to and from set of heatingandreshaping mechanisms and its associated actuating means so as to bebodily movable toward or away from the first-mentioned support means andthe mechanisms carried thereby. l

5. Apparatus of the class described for simultaneously reshaping bothends of vitreous tubes comprising a rotatable carrier mounted on a'shaft and having means at its periphery .for grip- .ping a tubeintermediate its ends so that the ends of the tube project freelytherefrom, means for indexing said carrier to carry the tube through adefinite path of travel, heating and reshaping mechanisms arrangedadjacent the path of travel of one end of. said tube to heat and reshapesaid end, means for actuating said reshaping mechanism, iixed supportmeans carrying said heating and reshaping mechanisms and said actuatingmeans, and a second set of heating and reshaping mechanisms arrangedadjacent the path of travel of the other end of said tube to heat andreshape it with actuating means for said second-mentioned reshapingmechanism wholly independent of the actuating means for thefirst-mentioned reshaping mechanism, and movable support means slidablealongside the said shaft and carrying the second-mentioned set ofheating and reshaping mechanisms and ,turrets having correspondingaligned gripping means at their .peripheries for holding a tubeintermediate its ends so that the ends of the tube project freelytherefrom, one 'of said turretsbeing fixed to said shaft and the otherbeingslidable along' said shaft, with means for securing said slidableturret to said shaft, means for indexing said carrier to carry the tubethrough a definite path of travel, heating and reshaping mechanismsarranged adjacent the path of travel of one end4 of said tube to heatand reshape said end, means for actuating said reshaping mechanism, `xedsupport means carrying said heating and reshaping mechanisms and saidvheat and reshape it with actuating means for said second-mentionedreshaping 'mechanism wholly independent of the actuating means for themstmentioned reshaping mechanism, and movable support means slidablealongside said 'shaft and also connected to the adjacent slidable turretand carrying the second-mentioned set of heating and reshapingmechanisms and its associated actuating means so as Vto be bodilymovable toward or away from lthe first-mentioned support means and the mcarried thereby.

'1; Apparatus of the class described for simui- Y ytaneously reshapingboth ends` of vitreous tubes mentioned reshaping mechanism, and .movablecomprising a carrier mountedto rotate on a` horizontal axis and havingmensat its periphery for gripping a tube intermediate its ends so thatthe' ends of the tube projectfreely therefrom, said gripping meanssecurely-holding said y tubev against rotation 'about its-own axis,means for indexing said carrier to .carry the through a definite path'of travehduplicatesets l of burners and reshaping mechanisms arrangedadjacent the paths of travel o! the ends of saidtube, each oi' said'setsof burners comprising a ring-type burner with its jets arranged toproject a conical name, means for reciprocating said burner to move itover and slightly beyond the adjacent end o! the habe after the tube hasbeen indexed into a position opposite the burner to cause the iiame fromthe burner to be directed members, and means for reciprocating said'forming members to move them into engagement with the adjacent end ofthetube to reshape it.

CLARENCE E. HAHN. JOHN sano.

